Raonic v Federer - McEnroe feels his protege is ready to get to a Slam Final. On ESPN, he stated that emphatically. Federer looks hungry, but Cilic feels Federer was missing shots that he did not miss in his heyday.

Berdych v Murray - Murray should find this a bit easier than his QF v Tsonga. Drop shots and good defense should also help. Baseline play may not get him much leverage with Berdych.

Fed v Raonic - Raonic to come (unfortunately) come through in 3, maybe 4. I think he is now full of confidence and has matured since his SF two years ago. McEnroe being there or not makes no difference in this match. He came from a set behind in Brisbane so all that will count. I see this unfortunately being akin to the USO 14 Semi. Federer faces an inspired Cilic, in this case Raonic,with a pair of dead legs after coming from 2 sets down vs Monfils. Raonic is nearly 10 years younger. Need I say more?

I am hoping I have got it very wrong.

Murray v Berdych - Murray in 3 fairly competitive sets. He has had his wobble for the tournament so he can work on his shortcomings and I cannot see him being in this situation again. Crowd will play a part in this and end of the day, Berdych does not have it in him to cause the upset. Of the 'Fab 4' he has always been a thorn in Fed's side whereas the other 3 own him.

In spite of the rankings, I see Raonic as less dangerous than Cilic; the main question mark for me is Fed's fitness after the five sets he just played.

Agree with that. Although Raonic will be marginally harder for Fed to break, the key difference is he will most likely pose a much lower threat on return. That should allow Fed to relax and will probably result in a better serving performance. It's also an ideal match-up following the marathon Cilic match. Every chance that Fed will be fresh as a daisy for the final. If Murray awaits, he will need to be.

TRuffin wrote:One positive sign is fed practiced today and reports are he went a full session. He skipped practice after the Monfils Match to try and recover, so maybe he's feeling okay this time

That is hopeful.

Also, I did not see the match live, but then I caught up and watched some of it delayed - I picked somewhat random bits and pieces from throughout the match. Fed's body language at the end did not look bad to me - if my mind is not playing tricks on me, he looked absolutely exhausted after the Monfils match, but not so much yesterday.

Although Fed's match with Cilic was 5 competitive sets, it wasn't the most physically demanding match ever - lots of serve winners and short rallies. OK, Fed's probably a bit fatigued (mentally as well as physically), but not to the extent where he should be seriously compromised 2 days later. I see this match being similarly tight, and decided by who plays the big points better. Pretty much a coin toss for me.

As for Federer missing shots, he had 2 horrible UEs on simple put aways and a few errors when stepping back to make room for a forehand, but otherwise his error count was pretty good, and there were still some glances of a genius at work - not as many as in his prime, but he's still the most natural shot maker out there. Overall he's playing reasonably.

Fed beat Raonic fairly comfortably at this stage of Wimbledon two years ago. But Raonic's movement and overall play has improved a lot since then. He was close to winning against Murray in the AO semi earlier this year and appears more confident in his play and, possibly due to Johnny Mac, more confident in himself. Will he beat Fed? A year ago I would definitely have said no. A week ago I would have said yes, as we had no idea how Fed was playing/feeling. Now? Too close to call. Murray should beat Berdych. Surprised Tomas has got this far, but then he's had a comparatively easy draw.

Raonic is a totally different player than the last time these two met at Wimbledon. I think many continue to underestimate his much-improved movement, willingness to come forward, and enhanced variety of shot.

One encouragement for Fed is that Raonic fell away dramatically once Murray got his measure at Queens. If he can turn the tide here or even in set 3, I wouldn't be surprised if Raonic's game starts to unravel.